Question: How do these products land here?
Answer: Cars figuring in the bottom 30 list may not always have to be a failed product. There are broadly four reasons for cars to figure in the bottom list.
- Failed product
- Niche - product or segment
- Sunset phase - segment or product-life-cycle (PLC)
- Production ramp-up phase
Honda Civic 6 units
Honda has to shut down Greater Noida based plant where the CKD (completely-knocked-down) assembly facility was available. They could have started the CKD assembly line at their new Tapukara plant, but they didnt as they were not having good demand. 1st generation (in India) Civic was successful initially, but was hit badly when petrol prices soared and Honda was not having a diesel engine.
Honda has to be blamed for Civic 2nd generation (India) failure. 1.8L petrol was good but was let down by lousy CVT and diesel power output was puny 120 PS, that too without AT option. Civic is the 5th best-selling car in the world in 2020, and discontinued forever in India.
Honda CR-V 13 units
All those Civic reasons are valid here. The irony is, Honda CRV was the 4th best-selling car in the world in 2020.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/slideshow/...ling-cars-2#18
Volkswagen Tiguan 40 units
A restart of a new journey with petrol only engine. Nothing can be concluded.
Mahindra Verito EV 49 units
Mahindra has been an EV pioneer in India, sad to see how miserably they wasted the last decade. For now, sales of Verito EV is coming from fleet operators only. In the early phase, it got the advantage of being alone and Government order flow. Poor range and no further enhancement means no further demand.
Isuzu MUX 53 Units
A restart of a new journey. In past, it never was able to cross 1,000 units in a year.
Skoda Kodiaq 72 units
A restart of a new journey with petrol only engine. Nothing can be concluded.
Mahindra KUV 100 75 units
It was quite a first for Mahindra. First hatchback from scratch, first small petrol (G80) engine and small diesel engine (D75) too, a foot in the door - biggest body style segment, but then KUV 100 failed. KUV 100 as a product was ugly looking and on top of that, fuel efficiency was low due to large AC compressor and gearbox vibration in low ratios added to customer misery in initial days. It was a sales disaster, wonder why Mahindra is even continuing with such dismal sales in the BS6 era.
Hyundai Kona 121 units
First BEV crossover in India, but in reality, its just an i20 sized and shaped crossover with a cramped interior, asking for a high price. Compare its price with MG EZS, which is also part of this list, and reason becomes more apparent for such less volume.
Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace - 137 units
Wondering why Volkswagen brought CBU (completely-built-unit) car with 60% customs duty and sold it at price near to current CKD Tiguan. It seems they were losing money hand over fist, moreover they had to offer ₹ 5 lakhs additional discount to clear the stock since late 2020. A quick estimate suggests that revenue loss could be around ₹ 4.5 lakhs per car due to high customs duty, or in other words, they suffered a total revenue loss of over ₹ 45 crores.
Datsun GO (140 units)/Go+ (221 units)
All Datsun products in India are begging for final closure, but is Nissan India listening?
Force Gurkha 190 units
Start of a new journey.
Jeep Wrangler 211 units
As CBU, sales was negligible. CKD operation in India brought the price down by ₹ 10 lakhs, and sales reached a respectable 200+ level for a very niche product.
Hyundai Elantra 303 units
Facelift Elantra with steep price hike bombed in 2019. A slight price correction didnt bring much respite either. Hyundai doesnt have brand appeal to sell premium priced vehicles in India.
Mahindra Alturas 419 units
Well, the previous avatar sold by the original name of Rexton did better than the rechristened new generation, incidentally, both the generation have similar shaped PLC graphs. It is intriguing to see how MG sold 3,823 Gloster, and Mahindra could not, even after undercutting Toyota Fortuners price.
Toyota Vellfire 478 units
Van wearing ₹ 90 lakhs ex-showroom price tag reached near 500 unit sales, with a mass-market-brand-badge, is a miracle. Exaggeration aside, its a wonderful product for personal mobility and loved by high net worth business clients.
Toyota Camry 500 units
Unlike Corolla, Camry was never a segment leader, but then those who love it, looks nowhere else. But then that customer segment is limited, and so is the sales.
Citroen C5 Aircross 624 units
Not a great start for Citroen in India even with a diesel powered SUV/Crossover. Its an overpriced product.
Volkswagen T Roc 1,000 units
Why Volkswagen brought CBU car with 60% customs duty and sold it at price much lower than CBU Skoda Karoq. At these prices, they must be losing money hand over fist. Quick estimates suggest that revenue loss could be around ₹ 2.7 lakhs per car with respect to locally produced Taigun with same engine. They lost revenue of over ₹ 54 crores by selling 2,000 units in India. Unlike Tiguan Allsapce (sold at massive discounts), T-Roc found customers, appreciating what it is fun to drive crossover.
Hyundai Tucson 1,313 units
Hyundai never had a brand appeal to sell premium cars in India. A quick comparison with Jeep Compass sales says it all.
Skoda Octavia 1,416 units
What was Skoda India thinking when bringing a premium car without a sunroof and overpriced by at least ₹ 4 lakhs. Octavia 4th generation is selling at a discount, but still doing much better than only competitor - Hyundai Elantra.
In long run, Octavia also became the second best-selling car in its segment, after Toyota Corolla.
Ford Aspire 1,502 units (The rise and fall of Ford India | The most comprehensive study)https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/243141-rise-fall-ford-india-most-comprehensive-study.html Mahindra Marazzo -1,516 units (How Maruti cracked the Compact MPV code with the 2nd-gen Ertiga & XL6)https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/247158-how-maruti-cracked-compact-mpv-code-2nd-gen-ertiga-xl6.html Nissan Kicks 1,860
Indian Kicks is an imposter and rightly deserves where it is.
Volkswagen Vento 1,886 units
Time to hand over the baton to the next generation, due since 2016.
Skoda Superb 1,963 units
Skoda Superb outsold Volkswagen Vento in 2021, quite an achievement for a lone warrior with a petrol only engine.
Tracing timeline - it is quite an achiever when others gave up (read it as Honda Accord).
MG Astor 2,143 units
Start of a new journey in semiconductor pandemic, so, nothing can be concluded.
Toyota Yaris 2,235
Indian customers cannot be taken for a ride with the wrong product at the wrong price. This also proves that not everything can sell with a mighty T badge either.
MG EZS 2,798 units
It is a value for money EV at that price point, so is the respectable sales of 200 units a month.
Renault Duster 2,870 units
A pioneer lost in oblivion.
![Bottom 30 Cars Poorest sales performers of the country-24.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/indian-car-scene/2269315d1686797330t-bottom-30-cars-poorest-sales-performers-country-24.jpg)